Monday, February 2, 2015

I started this blog just over 7 years ago. Back when blogging was fun, I decided that I would break my craft stuff out on its own from my LiveJournal. And it was good for a while - I finally found somewhat of a voice. I had an outlet to show off my stuff. Its been 7 years full of changes.

But it's time to let it go. I could just abandon Craftykix to the land of neglected blogs, but I figured I would come by to wrap things up and say goodbye.

Why am I quitting? It's not worth it to me. I have a couple mental blocks. It kind of feels more like a hassle than a fun outlet. I don't feel like crafting sometimes. When I do, I don't always feel like documenting every step for a tutorial. I don't have the space here for photo shoots anyway.

This is where some people say that all the people they've met and the community they've formed made it all worth it. But not me. Despite the floods of people coming by for the V-Stitch Cowl Pattern and the ribbon veil and sleeve-lengthening tutorials, there is no feedback. No one comments, no one emails, no one else is trying to make a connection to what I'm extending. the V-Stitch Cowl Pattern was out for THREE YEARS before someone was kind enough to email me and ask about a stitch count that turns out was wrong.

I'm tired of shouting into the void, talking into a vacuum. I hate waste, and that includes effort.

So, what has happened to all the stuff I've made over the past 7 years?
About half of it still exists. Maybe less. I end up going back and reworking half the stuff I do. Some of it I find I don't have a use for anymore and it gets donated, like the red sweater pillow. Actually, a LOT of home decor stuff got donated in the last move.

Making that list helps, because at times I feel like when it comes to something I made vs something storebought, I end up going with what wastes my efforts. But now that I see it, I feel a little better that I didn't waste my time.

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Jewelry display was the next item on the list. So I took an idea from Pinterest (or Buzzfeed's roundup of Pinterest or something) and got to work.

At the thrift store I didn't see any empty frames I liked but I did see one of those generic wine related "art" pieces that people use to make kitchens seem worldly. I hate wine, but it was the right size, The outside had a not horrible pattern (that I didn't get in any of the pictures) and quite frankly it was going to get painted over anyway, so it's a win.

Two coats of paint, and 1 pack of hooks later, we have this:

It has since been mounted on the wall and for a grand total cost of $4 is fulfilling it's intended function quite nicely.

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

There's only one closet in the room, the dresser takes up all of one wall (and is full). All the little bits of personal care and other things get dumped on top. Unceremoniously.

Seriously, that's almost embarrassing. There's some nods to a system but not. I hate when I can't see clean surfaces.

SO if you can't go around, go up. I took some measurements. I found some leftover wood in the garage. Mark, cut, nail, paint, repeat. When installed, I took the opportunity to clean out a little bit of crap as well. Things have moved around on the shelves slightly since I took the picture but the result is the same.

Monday, January 5, 2015

2014 for me was filled with a lot of change, Relationship and location mainly, and I'll leave that for you to speculate on yourself, because it's not something I'm going to discuss on the open internet.

So in short, I'm living somewhere new. Crafting has kind of been put to the side in the past few months due to the relocation, but now that I'm settled in, I can get back to some things. The sewing machine is still in storage, but there are still other things to do.

The new place is - in some realtor's terms - cozy. And with the number of people in the family, that means storage space is at a premium. AND with me not having a job again yet, going to the Bed Bath and Beyond and dropping a bunch of coin on fancy organizational accessories isn't really prudent.

SO in true Crafter spirit - time to make some stuff myself.

Fortunately, roommates with power tools who also like making things means project collaboration. Helpful in the design phase to get another opinion, and also to make sure that I don't wreak havoc with the table saw. It's so nice to finally be with people who also like physically making stuff and understand the creative process.

Solutions to storage problems are coming along one solution at a time.

For instance - problem: shoes on the floor of the closet, disguising cat misbehavior (aka pee). SO now we have a shoe rack.

Problem number 2: the closet outside the bathroom didn't have any lower shelves for me to put my stuff. So I made one. I have the primary shelf, and the bottom shelf also is the perfect size for a fabric bin to slide in and hold random oddities.

I'm actually pretty proud of that one - I designed it myself and made it myself. It's solid, sturdy and LEVEL.

So that's what I've been up to lately - there are a few more things that I'm working on that I'll probably post here soon. No tutorials, because I don't like having to stop what I'm doing to take pictures of everything.

Whether I feel like documenting EVERYTHING I make here again will be something I'll have to think about. I enjoy sharing what I make with other people, but it seems like the only thing that draws anyone to this blog is free patterns. SO I may end up going back to Craftster on a regular basis, who knows?

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Okay so the other week I found these things: PocketBands
They're for keeping your key or some money or something in while you exercise. And it's a friggin BRILLIANT idea. And affordable. I'm on board.

But you know me, I'm gonna try to make one anyway, especially when I'm trying to use stuff up...

I had this "performance fabric" left over from when I ripped the bottom half of the legs off this pair of running tights. I also had a 3 inch zipper and a needle and thread.

Lo and behold, the zipper wristie:

That looks really small, doesn't it? I know. I took about an inch and a half of the circumference of the leg hole. But don't worry, it stretches.

In action, with a poor stunt double for a key.

Actually, I intended for the zipper to be worn on the inside, but you can't really take a picture of the inside of a sleeve. Go figure. It could really work either way, though. As long as the zipper stays zipped, it should be secure.

There is no tutorial because I did this at night in about a half an hour while watching Whip It (which is STILL an awesome movie BTW). No pics, just improvising. And quite frankly, I like working like that. Documenting things is helpful to others, but it really gets in the way of inspiration sometimes.

I will still end up with one of the original Pocketbands eventually (or more, one for the car, one for going walking, one for going to the bar) (come on there's one with SKULLS) but this will do quite nicely for now.

Monday, July 28, 2014

Did a little stashbusting this weekend. Nothing huge, just stuff to get the little odd bits out of the way.

Let's see what came out of it:

A boxy pouch. I used the tutorial from Three Bears that I found a link to on Pinterest. Turned out pretty well. I just think there's got to be some way to get the lining in there the same time while shaping. This is pretty small, actually, but I still like it.

Next up, I redid the camo pouch to be a side zip model. Tan lining.

Some face cloths with the remnants of the new blanket....

Another Grab It and Go wallet, because they are quite handy. I reclaimed the mandolin strap. to use for the fabric.

And finally, one of the ubiquitous jersey headbands from Pinterest, because why not?

I say that most of it came out pretty good, aside from the ring tab on the wallet. I used the "hair tie on the machine as seam allowance guideline" trick I saw and I won't say it revolutionized my sewing, but it did help A LOT. That's gonna stay.

My Pinterest Policy:

I like Pinterest a lot.

Sometimes I check to see if anyone has pinned anything from here at Craftykix. Lo and behold, some have, and I'm generally ok with that.

Just please, if you're going to pin my stuff, make sure you're actually linking back to the entry with the image, ok? There are special places in hell for people who don't properly attribute things or give proper credit.

I do my best to find original entries for the projects I pin, I just ask the same of you as well.